Wealth & Poverty

Ways to Connect

There's a new study out about the origins of the mafia. It finds that the essential ingredient in the birth of the mafia as we know it isn't the threats or the murders or the other stuff that's great for Hollywood. The detail that matters is lemons.

In 1992, Douglas Bruce proposed a measure called the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, TABOR for short. TABOR was effectively a tax-limitation measure that said, whenever a government wanted more money — whenever it wanted to increase taxes — it had to put the question on the ballot. Increased taxes for roads? The voters would get to decide. Better schools? Put it on the ballot. But put the price there first.

Last June the price of oil was $44 a barrel. Then, it started climbing. Earlier this week, it briefly hit $70.

The price of oil is a big deal. It affects how much you pay for heating, or a gallon of gas, or a flight home.

The price of oil is also famously volatile, and in the last six or seven years it's taken an incredible ride. On today's show, we tell the story of what happened and try to figure out what it means for the future of oil prices.

Ginseng is a little ginger-like root that grows in the mountains of Appalachia. It has been used for thousands of years, mostly in China, as a remedy for everything from fatigue to cancer. It is poached from state forests, and it is farmed in secret locations. People have been killed over it.

But not all ginseng is created equal. There's cultivated ginseng and wild ginseng. And the wild stuff is where the money is. It can cost a thousand dollars a pound, or more.

Everybody needs oil. Saudi Arabia has a lot of oil. So the country has had an endless supply of money.

Then, things started changing. The U.S. started producing more oil, which means Saudi Arabia can't control world oil prices like they used to. Also, it's become clear that the world isn't going to run on oil forever.

Now, a young crown prince is trying to figure out how to save his country before the money runs out. Part of the plan: A Greek, new-age keyboardist.